Psalms 10; Psalms 11; Psalms 12; Acts 19:1-20

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Psalms 10

1 Why dost thou stand afar off, O LORD? Why dost thou hide thyself in times of trouble?

2 In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes which they have devised.

3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his heart, and the man greedy for gain curses and renounces the LORD.

4 In the pride of his countenance the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, "There is no God."

5 His ways prosper at all times; thy judgments are on high, out of his sight; as for all his foes, he puffs at them.

6 He thinks in his heart, "I shall not be moved; throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity."

7 His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.

8 He sits in ambush in the villages; in hiding places he murders the innocent. His eyes stealthily watch for the hapless,

9 he lurks in secret like a lion in his covert; he lurks that he may seize the poor, he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.

10 The hapless is crushed, sinks down, and falls by his might.

11 He thinks in his heart, "God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it."

12 Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up thy hand; forget not the afflicted.

13 Why does the wicked renounce God, and say in his heart, "Thou wilt not call to account"?

14 Thou dost see; yea, thou dost note trouble and vexation, that thou mayest take it into thy hands; the hapless commits himself to thee; thou hast been the helper of the fatherless.

15 Break thou the arm of the wicked and evildoer; seek out his wickedness till thou find none.

16 The LORD is king for ever and ever; the nations shall perish from his land.

17 O LORD, thou wilt hear the desire of the meek; thou wilt strengthen their heart, thou wilt incline thy ear

18 to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Psalms 11

1 To the choirmaster. Of David. In the LORD I take refuge; how can you say to me, "Flee like a bird to the mountains;

2 for lo, the wicked bend the bow, they have fitted their arrow to the string, to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart;

3 if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do"?

4 The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD's throne is in heaven; his eyes behold, his eyelids test, the children of men.

5 The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked, and his soul hates him that loves violence.

6 On the wicked he will rain coals of fire and brimstone; a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.

7 For the LORD is righteous, he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.

Psalms 12

1 To the choirmaster: according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David. Help, LORD; for there is no longer any that is godly; for the faithful have vanished from among the sons of men.

2 Every one utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

3 May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts,

4 those who say, "With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us; who is our master?"

5 "Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan, I will now arise," says the LORD; "I will place him in the safety for which he longs."

6 The promises of the LORD are promises that are pure, silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.

7 Do thou, O LORD, protect us, guard us ever from this generation.

8 On every side the wicked prowl, as vileness is exalted among the sons of men.

Acts 19:1-20

1 While Apol'los was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples.

2 And he said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" And they said, "No, we have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."

3 And he said, "Into what then were you baptized?" They said, "Into John's baptism."

4 And Paul said, "John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus."

5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them; and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.

7 There were about twelve of them in all.

8 And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, arguing and pleading about the kingdom of God;

9 but when some were stubborn and disbelieved, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them, taking the disciples with him, and argued daily in the hall of Tyran'nus.

10 This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.

11 And God did extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul,

12 so that handkerchiefs or aprons were carried away from his body to the sick, and diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them.

13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches."

14 Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this.

15 But the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?"

16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, mastered all of them, and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

17 And this became known to all residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks; and fear fell upon them all; and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled.

18 Many also of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices.

19 And a number of those who practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all; and they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver.

20 So the word of the Lord grew and prevailed mightily.